Better late than never I guess..

I have been working out since October, and when I had started I was a 115lb weakling, who was struggling to get the bare bar up in bench presses, 15lb dbs were a big obstacle, and dips were a myth..
today on the other hand, after 32 weeks of blood and sweat and (some but not many) tears, my 1RM is now 200, I can properly curl 35's, and I can easily out-dip all of my friends.
A few may have noticed that I fail to mention anything about my legs..that is because I just started to do them =\ (I am an idiot I know)
The area right above my knee caps are VERY weak, I used to do a lot of running in high school, but that was 7 years ago.
I did my first set of squats and dead-lifts last week. I started off with just the bare bar (12 reps) in an attempt to give my legs some sort of prep for what was coming, and I don't want to rush into it. Long story short I got to my third set (120lbs)..and the problem area really started to hurt. I was talking to a gentleman at the juice bar, telling him my problem hoping maybe he would have an answer..
"**** squats for now, spend 21-22 weeks doing just leg extensions, that should strengthen them."
Is this info correct? If not, is there anything I can do to maybe alleviate the pain?

Yeah it's definitely a pain..by the time I get to the third rep, it's a dull pain, then gets sharper and sharper..I know the phrase "no pain, no gain", but this is ridiculous!

If it's an injury watch out but a lot of times when people have pain doing squats it's from poor form. What angle do you have your feet at? Do your shins stay close to vertical or do your knees go in front of your toes? How wide are your legs? Etc.

I'm expecting the first week or so to be rough, but I'll manage...if it doesn't kill me it makes me stronger right?

Try the first month or two if you're squatting properly

Don't let it scare you off, single best exercise you can do for my money. Make sure you're getting in lots of protein doing anything extra to speed recovery. Make sure to take a few days off between sessions.

Don't let it scare you off, single best exercise you can do for my money. Make sure you're getting in lots of protein doing anything extra to speed recovery. Make sure to take a few days off between sessions.

I try to get in 200gm a day, but it can get hard for me sometime. As for taking days off..I HATE taking off..if I go more than a day or so of not hitting weights, I get really antsy..I was at the doctor earlier for a sharp pain in my elbow, he said I might need to take a few WEEKS off..I think I'd lose my mind. The gym has become my second home, but I'm TOTALLY ok with that

I try to get in 200gm a day, but it can get hard for me sometime. As for taking days off..I HATE taking off..if I go more than a day or so of not hitting weights, I get really antsy..I was at the doctor earlier for a sharp pain in my elbow, he said I might need to take a few WEEKS off..I think I'd lose my mind. The gym has become my second home, but I'm TOTALLY ok with that

You really need to have rest days too man.

And earlier you posted that you expected the first week to be rough? how many days exactly are you working on your legs?

I found that my form was what would cause pain in my knee when trying to break a pr on the squat. The reason was my weight was mostly on the front of my fee instead of the ball of my heels. Try shifting the weight to your heels and see if that helps. When I started squats I used the smith machine as it forced me to keep better form. Hope this helps!

I found that my form was what would cause pain in my knee when trying to break a pr on the squat. The reason was my weight was mostly on the front of my fee instead of the ball of my heels. Try shifting the weight to your heels and see if that helps. When I started squats I used the smith machine as it forced me to keep better form. Hope this helps!

I did find a solution to the pain..different shoes lol, I bought the Minimus by New Balance..really light and very comfortable..
I would strongly advise against holding any weight above your feet though..dropped a 45lb plate on my big toe on Saturday, no damage, but hurt like a MOTHER.

As for the squats, threw on a 45lb plate on each side, said "fcuk it", knocked out 4 sets of 12..didn't think I had it in me